Published Feb. 3, 2022
BY AVA CAMARGO
With the recent surge of COVID-19 and the new omicron variant, CHS has taken extra precautions to further prevent the spread, but students who contracted the virus have experienced a mix of both concern and relief while balancing school, extracurriculars and family difficulties.
“At first I was scared about what the symptoms would be because I was worried that my grandma, who doesn’t have the vaccine, would get sick,” CHS junior Sage Lewand says. “I knew I’d be okay if I got sick, but it was mainly a big concern for my family.”
Students who contract the virus also experience a negative impact on their mental well-being from isolation. Like Lewand, freshman Layla Viel found her family dynamic altered.
“My dad and I both had COVID,” Viel says. “And we had to be extra cautious because my grandpa, who was staying with us, is super high risk.”
Apart from the mental effects of being quarantined, physical symptoms ranged from a high fever to a headache to nothing at all, which set back the amount of schooling that could be done while at home.
“I had around a 102-degree fever, and that was how I first knew that it was COVID,” Lewand explains. “I’m grateful my symptoms weren’t too difficult though, and most of the time it was a headache and sore throat for me.”
On top of juggling the virus, junior Abel Villaseñor also had to adjust to public school after being home-schooled since fourth grade.
Students who catch the virus keep up with homework through emailing teachers, Google Classroom and help from friends. (Photo by AVA CAMARGO)
“It definitely wasn’t ideal to start my first year at Carmel High with COVID and missing the first week of football,” Villaseñor says. “Afterwards I was very cautious of the virus and my opinions in regards to vaccines and masks were the same.”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak occurred during and after winter break, only a minimal amount of schoolwork was missed for most, but others faced more conflicts off campus, including senior elite gymnast Colleen Cordell.
“I have a really busy schedule with school and then practice right after for three-and-a-half hours, so it was hard for me to stay isolated from gymnastics and my friends,” Cordell says. “But at the same time, I appreciated my teachers giving me extra time for assignments.”
Managing school itself did not seem difficult for many, especially with the new five-day quarantine regulations, which recently dropped from 10 days. Emailing teachers and friends was often all that was needed to keep up with in-person learning while at home.
“In order to adjust to doing school online,” junior Brody Mendez explains, “I reached out to my teachers via email, but wasn’t provided any other resources besides Google Classroom and couldn’t do much homework when I was sick.”
After finding out about the 90-day immunity after contracting the virus, a sense of relief settled among CHS students. Contact tracing and weekly rapid tests are now encouraged for all students to prevent outbreaks and continue learning in a healthy environment.
